A heavy Spanish accent was back on the Vuelta a España in Monday’s wild and unpredictable seven-climb stage from Alcoy to Xorret de Catí. After a week of stages dominated by non-Spanish riders, Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Xacobeo-Galicia) found himself the sole survivor of a daylong breakaway that tore itself to shreds on the final obstacle, the Category 1 Alto Xorret de Cati at 185.6km. Veloso became the first Spanish winner so far in the 64th Vuelta, having just enough in the tank to fend off the fast-chasing GC favorites.

You may not recognize many of the new names on the Columbia-HTC 2010 squad, but take note, says team owner Bob Stapleton, as they will likely be big names in the near future. Among the 10 new riders on the men’s roster, eight are under 25. They are: twin brothers Peter and Martin Velits, 24, Slovakia Matt Goss, 23, Australia Patrick Gretsch, 22, Germany Tejay Van Garderen, 21, USA Jan Ghyselinck, 20, Belgium Rasmus Guldhammer, 20, Denmark Leigh Howard, 20, Australia

Another French rider won at the Tour de l’Avenir, taking a bunch sprint in Sunday’s second stage. Jean-Lou Paiani (France B) was first across the line in the 138km stage from Dreux to Tourville-la-Campagne, outkicking European U-23 champion Kris Boeckmans (Belgium). Compatriot Julien Bérard, winner of Saturday’s opener, retained the overall leader’s jersey in the nine-day race across France.

Columbia-HTC's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg racked up her 23rd win of the year in Saturday's stage of the Ladies Tour of Holland. Teutenberg outpowered Netherlands rider Kirsten Wild in the bunch sprint that decided the 108 kilometer stage in Nieuwegein. Teutenberg has now taken 23 victories this season, whilst her latest win takes the tally for Columbia-HTC women's team this season to 45.

Nino Schurter and Swiss teammate Florian Vogel work together to keep Julien Absalon in second place at the mountain bike World Championships in Canberra, Australia. Canada's Geoff Kabush and the USA's Todd Wells finish in top 10. Complete Results

Although his team didn’t walk away with a stars-and-stripes jersey for its efforts, Kelly Benefit Strategies director Jonas Carney feels his squad was collectively the strongest across August’s national criterium, time trial and road championships. It’s an biased opinion, to be sure, but results sheets don’t lie.

Astana’s Levi Leipheimer broke his wrist during this year’s Tour de France, and returned to his home in California to recover. He was soon back on the bike training — although it was often the time trial bike so he wouldn’t stress his wrist. Now, the man who took third at the 2007 Tour de France prepares to return to racing at the Tour of Missouri, which he last raced in 2007. VeloNews caught up with him to get his thoughts on the 2009 edition. VeloNews: 2008 Tour of Missouri winner Christian Vande Velde says you are the big favorite.

The strongest field to line up on American soil since February’s Amgen Tour of California will roll off Monday afternoon in St. Louis on stage 1 of the Tour of Missouri. Tour de France stars Levi Leipheimer, Mark Cavendish, Christian Vande Velde, Thor Hushovd, George Hincapie, Jens Voigt and many others will be among those shooting for stage wins or the overall in the seven-day race.

They wanted the win on home roads, but Dutch-backed Vacansoleil are still tickled pink to have a stage victory at the Vuelta a España from Slovenian ace Borut Bozic in Friday’s 175.8km wild ride into Xátiva in the sixth stage. With temperatures pushing 100F, the 28-year-old unleashed a long sprint to upset the favorites and give his underdog team a huge boost in its quest to earn an at-large bid to next year’s Tour de France, which, like this year’s Vuelta, also starts in Holland.

Reigning Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez says he doesn’t expect to, but still believes he can win the Vuelta a España. That’s how Sánchez assesses things after nearly a week of racing in the Vuelta, sitting 65th at 1:09 back. “Right now I don’t see myself winning, but I know that I am capable of doing it,” Sánchez said. “It’s the same thing as trying to finish in the top 10 at the Tour; it’s one thing to think but it’s altogether something else to actually do it.”

André Greipel (Columbia-HTC) made it look easy in Thursday’s 174km fifth stage at the Vuelta a España, winning his second consecutive stage and bouncing into the race leader’s golden jersey thanks to finish-line bonuses. Wearing the green points jersey, “André the Giant” came off Tom Boonen’s wheel with 100 meters to go at the end of frenetic final 10km to catapult into the double, with the stage win and leader’s jersey to assure plenty of podium time.

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Chris Horner was among the major victims of a horrible high-speed crash Tuesday as scores of riders crashed near the end of the rainy fourth stage at the Vuelta a España. The Astana captain hit the deck with dozens of riders in a pile-up caused by a narrow run through a rain-slickened traffic circle within the 3km-to-go banner. The team later announced that Horner had broken his left hand and would leave the Vuelta.

André Greipel doesn’t think there should be an asterisk next to his victory in Tuesday’s stage at the crash-marred finale at the Vuelta a España. Greipel was only one of six riders to make it past a horrible accident that wiped out nearly all of the major sprinters, including Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) and Tom Boonen (Quick Step).

With this year’s expiration of UCI restrictions on public disclosure of new signings, the Garmin-Slipstream team has announced the addition of six new riders to its roster for 2011, including American Tom Zirbel and classics specialist Johan Van Summeren. The team has also signed Barloworld’s sprint specialist Robbie Hunter, Fuji-Servetto’s Fredrik Kessiakoff, moved Peter Stetina up from its U23 counterpart, the Felt-Holowesko Partners squad, and signed 21-year-old Michel Kreder, who currently rides for the Rabobank Continental team.

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Perhaps it’s no mistake that Greg Henderson’s biggest road win of his career comes in the Vuelta a España. Monday’s stage-3 sprint victory for the 32-year-old Henderson caps a breakthrough season that’s also included major victories on Spanish roads, at the Clásica de Almería, the Vuelta a Murcia and the Volta a Catalunya. Holland isn’t quite Spain, but it is still the Vuelta a España despite its popular start in Benelux.

Planet Energy’s Keven Lacombe emerged from a stacked field of sprinters to win Sunday’s Chris Thater Memorial, coming to the line ahead of Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Yosvany Falcon (Champion Porsche). In Saturday's women's race, Team Tibco's Brooke Miller outsprinted Theresa Cliff_rayn (Verducci) and Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) for the win. The race was both a National Racing Calendar event and a round of the USA Crits series.

New Zealander Greg Henderson (Columbia-HTC) sprinted to his first grand-tour victory on Monday in stage 3 of the 2009 Vuelta a España. The former track racer proved the fastest in a furious finale, crossing ahead of Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) and Oscar Freire (Rabobank). Going into the final tricky corner, Henderson had a couple of Quick Steps in front of him and teammate André Greipel on his wheel. The idea was to launch the big German to the line. But things didn't work out as planned.

George Hincapie (Columbia-HTC) rode through a wall of sound as he outsprinted Andrew Bajadali (Kelly Benefit Strategies) to win the road race Sunday at the USA Cycling Professional National Championships in his adopted hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. The pair overtook Jeff Louder (BMC Racing Team), who attacked an elite group of seven riders in the final lap of the 185km race, which featured four trips over Paris Mountain.

Gerald Ciolek (Milram) has been lurking on the edge of greatness ever since he came out of nowhere to beat Erik Zabel and claim the 2005 German national title as a 20-year-old neo-pro. After winning the 2006 U23 world title, Ciolek has patiently been collecting minor wins and close calls in bigger events. He finally got his just reward in Sunday’s second stage of the 2009 Vuelta a España, a pan-flat 203.7km ride from Assen to Emmen in the Netherlands.

The 64th Vuelta a España clicks into gear Saturday on the Assen race track with one of its deepest and most competitive fields ever. Not only are riders racing the Vuelta to prepare for the world championships, but some of the biggest names are lining up with nothing less than all-out victory as their stated goals. With none of last year’s top-3 back to defend their podium spots, the 2009 Vuelta is wide open. A challenging course well-suited for aggressive attacks in the mountains will promise to keep things interesting all the way into the final week.

The Greenville Hospital System USA Cycling Professional Championships return to Greenville, South Carolina for the fourth year August 29-30 and pit the bulk of the domestic peloton against select ProTour riders in a battle for stars and stripes jerseys in the time trial and road race. 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the one-day road race national championships.

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As we drove to the course, the small team camper bounced and creaked as it followed the motorcade of team cars along the small sinuous roads through the rural Brittany countryside. We passed dozens of cyclists ranging in age from 12 to 70, dressed in a mosaic of pro team and club colors, who were also on their way to the circuit to watch us race in Plouay.

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Greenville, South Carolina, resident Craig Lewis (Columbia-HTC) will miss the start of the USA Cycling Professional Championships this weekend, having been diagnosed with the H1N1 Flu Tuesday morning. When reached for comment on his hometown race, Lewis' wife Courtney reported that the 24-year old had been diagnosed with Swine Flu at the hospital Tuesday morning. Lewis was expected to support neighbor and teammate George Hincapie in a bid to win the road race championship Sunday.

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) will take a pass on Tuesday’s final time trial at the Eneco Tour despite sitting second overall just 21 seconds out of the lead. With three stage victories in the bag and the ever-important Vuelta a España looming ahead this weekend, the American sprinter decided that it was better to rest for more important goals in his third grand tour of the year.

Ivan Basso is taking aim at nothing short of overall victory for the 64th Vuelta a España, which clicks into gear Saturday in Holland. The Italian said he’s better prepared for the Vuelta than the Giro d’Italia earlier this season, where he finished fifth overall. “I trained myself in the best way without any stress,” Basso said in a team statement. “The final victory is a concrete goal.”

American Pua Sawicki notches a top-10 finish at Marathon World Championships in Austria while Belgian Roel Paulissen and German Sabine Spitz take men's and women's titles.

Six-time national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita - Sutter Home) is ending her career with a bang as she outsprinted Tibco's Lauren Tamayo and Brooke Miller at the Marion Classic Two-Bridge NRC Criterium in Indiana on Sunday. It was a double-win weekend for Pic's team as Luis Amaran solo'd to a classic win in the men's race, holding off a late charge by OUCH-Maxxis' Karl Menzies.

Technical course

Team Columbia-HTC believes powerful German sprinter André Greipel can help continue its impressive 2009 season once the Vuelta a España clicks into gear this Saturday. Mark Cavendish's stunning haul of six stage wins from this year's Tour de France took his tally to 10 in two participations, and was the highlight of a hugely successful season for the American outfit so far.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-HTC) consolidated his lead in the Eneco Tour by beating some of the more specialist fast men in a sprint for the finish of Monday's sixth stage. Boasson Hagen grabbed precious bonus seconds for the win, extending his lead over American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) to 21 seconds going into Tuesday’s final 13.1km individual time trial. Farrar, the winner of three stages so far here and the leader until Boasson Hagen took over on Sunday, finished third on the stage, just behind Australian Matthew Goss (Saxo Bank).

Bernie Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) overtook the OUCH-Maxxis sprint train roaring out of the final corner of the Downtown Salt Lake Criterium on Sunday to win the bunch sprint in final stage of the 2009 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. Sulzberger powered away from U.S. criterium champion John Murphy (OUCH-Maxxis) and Chris Barton (BMC Racing Team) in the final 200 meters to take the win.

The Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show kicked off its second year on Saturday at Denver’s National Western Complex. Eye candy abounded, and a steady stream of visitors kept the 70 or so exhibitors busy talking most of the day. Free microbrew samples ensured that spirits were high, and the relative coolness of the vast hall sheltered visitors and exhibitors alike from the 96-degree heat outside.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-HTC) took the leader's jersey from Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) after placing second in Sunday’s fifth stage of the Eneco Tour behind Lars Bak (Saxo Bank). Bak made his dash for the line 5km out to edge Boasson Hagen by two seconds with Italian Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-N.G.C.) third. Farrar missed out in the late breakaway and came in 30 seconds adrift to see Hagen pass him overall by 15 seconds following the 204.3km stage to Sirrard in the Netherlands.

Russell Downing (Candi TV) stuck it to the ProTour squads at the Tour of Ireland Sunday, escaping on the weather-shortened circuits of Cork to take the overall win and second on the stage behind Norway’s former road and cross-country champion Lars Petter Nordhaug (Joker-Bianchi). Saxo Bank animated the rain-drenched stage from Bantry along the southern coast to Cork. With five riders within shooting distance of the GC, the Danish ProTour team stacked many of the day’s early breaks and pushed the pace.

Martin Reimer isn’t a household cycling name. Yet. The 22-year-old Cervélo TestTeam rider captured his first pro win in his rookie year at the German national championships in June. This weekend he’s riding in the Tour of Ireland, where on Saturday he placed sixth on stage 2 behind Mark Cavendish. As with the other Cervélo riders in Ireland, Reimer hopes to help teammate Philip Deignan win a stage or climb up the general classification. After placing fourth on stage 1, Deignan sits fourth overall headed into the final stage Sunday.

Liquigas-Doimo heads to the 64th Vuelta a España with a strong team and even stronger ambitions. Led by GC threats Ivan Basso and Roman Kreuziger, Liquigas will start the Spanish tour with high hopes for a shot at overall victory as well as stage victories with the likes of Daniele Bennati and Manuel Quinziato.

British rider Emma Pooley (Cervélo) won Saturday’s GP de Plouay in a solo move in the ninth round of the 10-race World Cup series. Pooley won 2:30 ahead of the nearest rival after leaving the pack behind in a lone breakaway of more than 50km. The Olympic time trial silver medalist was surprised she hung on to win. Nicole Cooke gave chase on the last lap at the Cote de Kerihuel, but the Olympic champion couldn’t hold the pace, and Pooley stayed clear to claim her second World Cup win of the year.

Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) did what he does best at the end of stage 2 of the Tour of Ireland. After a fast, slightly downhill leadout from his man Bernie Eisel, Cavendish turned on the afterburners to take the victory ahead of Rabobank’s Michael Van Staeyen and Saxo Bank’s Stuart O’Grady. “It’s great to win,” Cavendish said. “It was a tough circuit but once the peloton came back together we took control with 2km to go.”

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Romain Feillu (Agritubel) snatched the sprint in Friday’s finale at the 42nd Tour du Limousin as the main bunch roared into Limoges for the fourth and final stage. Feillu out-kicked Perrick Fedrigo (BBox) to claim the 180.1km stage from Chalus to Limoges to wrap-up the four-day stage race across western France. Mathieu Perget (Caisse d’Epargne) finished safely in the pack to claim the overall victory, the first stage-race win of his young professional career.

Russell Downing (CandiTV) outkicked two Saxo Bank riders out of a small group to win the first stage of the 2009 Tour of Ireland. Astana and Saxo Bank drove the peloton hard up and over the day’s categorized climbs, shattering the field and setting a group of 23 riders free with just under 40km to go. Alexander Kolobnev and Matti Breschel (both Saxo Bank) finished second and third ahead of Philip Deignan (Cervélo) on the 196km stage from Powerscourt to Waterford.

Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won the third stage of the Eneco Tour at Hasselt, Belgium, on Friday, edging out overall leader Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Slipstream in a sprint finish which saw Italian Francesco Chicchi take third spot. "I had earmarked this stage and it's super to have won it," said Boonen. "It was really nice today to have been riding in my home region. We went right past my parents' place and my village, my house, my training ground."

Nearly 700 racers lined up for the Trek Border Battle, the eighth race in the Wisconsin Off Road Series.

In just a few years on the US market, Shimano’s PRO component line has already achieved good visibility. Lately prominent on the bikes of Columbia-HTC riders and of course those of Skil-Shimano, PRO bars, stems, and other parts appear destined for reasonably broad acceptance.

American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) won the second stage of the Eneco Tour on Thursday, further consolidating his hold on the overall lead. Farrar won a field sprint at the end of a 178.1km stage from Ardooie to Brussels, adding to the sprint win he earned in stage 1 on Wednesday. Farrar outsprinted Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux) and Columbia-HTC’s Edvald Boasson Hagen for the win in Brussels. The stage was marked by several breakaway attempts, the last of which was reeled in just 500 meters from the line.

Francisco Mancebo and Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) pulled off a one-two finish in the first stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on Wednesday. The tandem sprang away from the fadiing peloton on the climb above East Canyon Dam and extended their lead to a maximum of 35 seconds before coming through the finish on the outskirts of Salt Lake City together, 25 seconds ahead of a disorganized chase group that contained overnight leader Brent Bookwalter (BMC). The result vaulted Mancebo into the overall lead over Sevilla by 9 seconds.

Cervelo is bringing three crowd-drawing racers to the Tour of Missouri: Tour de France green jersey winner Thor Hushovd, Tour stage winner Heinrich Haussler, and up-and-coming American stage racer Ted King. Haussler and Hushovd are sure to battle with Columbia's Mark Cavendish for stage wins in Missouri.

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) sprinted to victory in the 184km first stage at the 5th Eneco Tour on Wednesday in Belgium. A major crash marred the finale into Ardooie, Belgium, sending scores of riders somersaulting to the ground in a high-speed melee. Farrar avoided the mishap and darted to victory, sprinting ahead of Tom Boonen (Quick Step), with Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-HTC) coming through third.

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How do the big races produce custom leaders' jerseys so fast?

When Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) says he’s on good form, you better believe him. Fresh off sprinting to victory in Sunday’s Hamburg Cyclassics race in Germany, Farrar came within a whisker of winning the opening prologue at the Eneco Tour, which clicked into gear Tuesday with a 4.4km course.

The National Racing Calendar rolls into Salt Lake City Tuesday evening as the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah returns in 2009 to challenge the mountain goats of the North American peloton. The five-stage race covers 325 miles and features many of the most demanding climbs in northern Utah.

Tyler Farrar notched the most important victory of his career this past Sunday in the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg, Germany. The classic win capped a break-out year for the 25-year-old Garmin-Slipstream rider, who’s won a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico, the overall at the Delta Tour Zeeland and five top-5s at the Tour de France so far this season. And he’s not finished yet.

Wet and wild would not even begin to describe the conditions for Sunday’s U.S. criterium national championships in Downers Grove outside Chicago. Torrential rains soaked the elite amateur men's field and thunderstorms delayed the pro men's race by an hour. The slick course caused crash after crash, turning the races into survival contests and dashing the hopes of favorites.

After a relatively quiet week last week, things are cracking across Europe. There’s stage racing in France, Ireland and Holland, a women’s World Cup and the Trittico Lombardo across northern Italy. 5th Eneco Tour (Ned, ProTour) August 18-25 Now in its fifth year, the Eneco Tour was born for the ProTour to bring the series to the important Benelux market, one of bike racing’s hotbeds. Bobby Julich won the inaugural edition in 2005 and José Ivan Gutiérrez (Caisse d’Epargne) is the two-time defending champion.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Lea Davison (Maxxis) won the short track on Sunday in the Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain in New York. Kabush, following his victory in Saturday's cross country, added a little icing to the cake by taking the short track ahead of Sam Schultz (Subaru-Gary Fisher and Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air-Specialized). Davison, meanwhile, outfought Luna teammates Katerina Nash and Georgia Gould to win the women's race.

A matter of inches

Garmin-Slipstream's Tyler Farrar sprinted to victory in the Vattenfall Cyclassics on Sunday. Farrar out-sped Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank) and Gerald Ciolek (Milram) to become the first American to win the 216.4km circuit race in Hamburg, Germany. Having lost out several times on sprint stages to Columbia-HTC’s Mark Cavendish in this year's Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, the 25-year-old Farrar said he was pleased to finally get a win under his belt.

The Saturday evening before the national criterium championships in Downers Grove, Illinois, is traditionally reserved for pro-am races for the men and women, half of the distances of the main events on Sunday. But with money on the line the racing is an odd combination of sprinting for dollars while saving something for Sunday’s big event ? or doing one’s best to avoid disaster the night before the title match.

Other than the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, few countries award a national championship jersey for criterium racing. The UCI does not even recognize it as an event and, therefore, does not recognize the national championship, but at least it kindly looks the other way, because criteriums are the most popular form of racing in these countries. In the U.S., criteriums dominate the racing calendar over road racing, culminating in the middle of August for the past 17 years in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove for the U.S. national criteirum championships.

Evelyn Stevens (New York, N.Y.) pulled off her first major European road stage race victory with a win in stage four of La Route de France on Thursday. Riding for the USA Cycling Women’s National Team, Stevens out sprinted fellow American Kim Anderson (Santa Barbara, Calif./Columbia-HTC) to take the stage win and second place in the general classification.

Reigning Olympic road race champion Samuel Sánchez will wear the No. 1 bib for the upcoming Vuelta a España in the season’s third and final grand tour, August 29- September 20. With none of last year’s top-3 podium finishers back for the 2009 edition, race organizers released a preliminary start list Thursday that includes the Euskaltel-Euskadi leader with el número uno.

American Chris Horner (Astana) narrowly missed a stage victory Tuesday morning at the Tour de l’Ain in France, but positioned himself to make a run at the overall title in the four-day French race. French rider Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) won the morning sector of Tuesday’s two-stage schedule in a busted up sprint, just nipping Horner for his first victory of the season in the hilly stage into Lélex over the Jura Mountains. Horner crossed the line second, one second ahead of the chasing David Moncoutie (Cofidis).

It’s been a long time coming for José Rojas, but persistence paid off — the Spanish sprinter finally won his first race of 2009, taking stage 2 at the Tour de l’Ain. The oft-injured Caisse d’Epargne fastman finally got into the winner’s column in Monday’s 146.5km stage, out-kicking Belgian bomber Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) with French rider Maxime Bouet coming through third.

This week’s European cycling menu consists primarily of events that are already under way. The Tour of Portugal and the Tour de l’Ain and the Route de France Féminine, both in France, kicked off last week and wrap up later this week. Then this weekend, the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg brings big-time cycling back to Germany. 21st Tour de l’Ain (Fra, 2.1) August 9-12

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Aldo Ino Ilesic (Team Type 1) and Brooke Miller (Tibco) both took wins at the 22nd annual running of the Hanes Park Classic on Sunday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was the second consecutive Hanes Park win for Miller and the second win of the weekend for the U.S. national criterium champion. For Ilesic, the win was sweet retribution for his heartbreaking second-place finish during the previous evening’s NRC battle 80 miles south at the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium in Charlotte.

Canadian David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit Strategies) and Tibco’s Brooke Miller scored solid wins in the sixth annual Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday. Veilleux rolled the dice during the final laps of the men’s race on Saturday night and came up a winner. Veillieux leapt off the front of a strong 10-man breakaway, where he was the sole Kelly rider, to hold a 14-second gap throughout the remaining three laps of racing.

Race simulations are a great weapon to have in your belt. Try these training tips and you'll be plenty prepared for exploding off the start line and getting a jump on the competition.

Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia) won a sprint finish for the sixth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Poland in Zakopane on Friday. Hagen crossed ahead of Italians Alessandro Ballan (Lampre), who holds the overall race leader's yellow jersey, and Marco Marcato after the 162km run between Kroscienko and Zakopane. "The stage was very tough. It wasn't possible to take the yellow jersey from Ballan, but tomorrow I'm going to do everything I can to take it from him and win," warned Hagen.

Crankworx Colorado hosts 1,100 athletes in five disciplines over the course of four days. Record number of riders in WP's bike park, too.

No rest for the weary. Ryder Hesjedal, fresh off finishing his second Tour de France, is roaring into the second half of the 2009 season. The Garmin-Slipstream rider posted a strong fifth place at last weekend’s Clásica San Sebastián and now sets his sights on a run at the overall classification at the Vuelta a España later this month before the world championships in Mendrisio. That heavy load is typical for 28-year-old Canadian, who is on the verge of major breakthrough victory.